In the last lesson we learned about how to play the C and D chord on the guitar, today I have a lesson on how to play E major chord in guitar. Like other open guitar chords, E major chord also consists of three notes. The notes are E, G#, and B. Here E is the root note, G# as the major 3rd, and B is the perfect fifth.
Now, let’s see it’s chord diagrams and all it positions in guitar.
E Open Chord
The open e chord is the simplest among all its different positions. Here you have to hold only three notes, that’s all. To hold it correctly follow the steps below.
- Place your 1st finger on the 1st fret of 3rd string
- Your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of 5th string
- Lastly, 3rd finger on 2nd fret of 4th string.
Make sure there is enough gap between your finger because if you don’t keep enough space then the sound produced will not be clear. If you are playing this chord for the first time then practice the finger placement over and over again until your muscle memory memorizes it.
On 7th Fret
This is the second position of e major chord but it is a bar chord. If you are just starting out in guitar then you may find this position difficult to hold. But, by practicing it over and over you can play it easily. Now let’s look at it’s finger placements.
- Place your first finger on the 7th fret and bar all the strings except the 6th string.
- Your second finger on 9th fret of the 4th string
- 3rd finger on the 9th fret of 3rd string
- Your 4th finger on 9th fret of 2nd string.
On 4th Fret
This is the 3rd position of E major chord and it requires a lot of finger stretching. The notes in the chords are starting from 4th fret and spreading to the 7th fret of the neck. I have written a dedicated post about finger stretching that you can read it here. Now, let’s look at the finger placements of this position.
- Place your 1st finger on the 4th fret and bar the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd strings.
- Your 2nd finger on the 5th fret of 2nd string.
- 3rd finger on 6th fret of 4th string.
- 4th finger on 7th fret of 5th string.
E Chord
This is the 4th position of E major chord that starts on the 2nd fret and look similar to the D open major chord. This position also require a lot of finger stretching. Anyways, let’s see the finger placement.
- Place your 1st finger on 2nd fret of 4th string.
- 2nd finger on 4th fret of 3rd string.
- 3rd finger on 4th fret of 1st string.
- 4th finger on 5th fret of 2nd string.
On 9th Fret
This is the 5th position of E major chord which is a bar chord and it is starting on the 9th fret of the neck. Let’s see the finger placement of this position.
- Place your 1st finger on 9th fret of 2nd, 3rd and 4th string and bar it.
- Place your 2nd finger on 11th fret of 5th string.
- Your 3rd finger on 12th fret of 6th string.
- Lastly your 4th finger on 12th fret of 1st string.
On 12th Fret
This is the 6th and last position of E major chord that you can play on the neck and it is also a bar chord. Follow the step below to hold this chord properly.
- Place your 1st finger on 12th fret and bar all the string.
- Place your 2nd finger on 13th fret of 3rd string.
- Your 3rd finger on 14th fret of 5th string.
- 4th finger on 14th fret of 4th string.
These are the 6 basic shapes of the E major chord. You can form many more shapes by using its formula.
